Apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions



P. RYAN. APPARATUS FOR TAKING AND PRESERVING FINGER PRINT IMPRESSIONS.

4 APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21,1919. 1,361, 100,, Patented Dec. 7, 1920.

I 3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I IIIIIIh I IIHI Ix; INVENTOR a fiWW/(W il A V BY TTONY r P. RYAN. APPARATUS FOR TAKING AND PRESERVING FINGER PRINT IMPRESSIONS.

APPLICATION FILED IUNEZT, 1919.

1,3 1,100, Patented Dec. 7,1920,

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I I ||I|| w P; RYAN.

APPARATUS FOR TAKING AND PRESERVING FINGER PRINT IMPRESSIONS.

v APPLICATION FILED JUNE 27, 1919.

m an 1% R M y m m N O i m H m K e n W 6 D M R\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ l m M w w a a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK RYAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

. Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. '7, 1920.

Application filed .Tune 27, 1919. Serial No. 307,233.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, PATRICK RYAN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new.and useful Im rovements in Apparatus for Taking and reserving Finger- Print Impressions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, and constitutes an improvement upon the invention claimed and described in my Letters Patent No. 1,251,113, dated December 25, 1917.

One object of my invention is to provide feeding means mounted in proper relationship to the recording table whereby a recordingsurface for finger print impressions, such as a filing card, may, by the simple manipulation of a handle and without soiling of recording surface by the operators fingers, be guided and fed gradually and to any degree required over the edge of the recording table and retained in varying positions on the finger-impressing bed portion of said table to enable different parts of such recording surface to be quickly available for receiving finger print impressions thereon.

Another object of my invention is to pro.- vide improved means for raising and lowering the recording and ink film supply tables preferably comprising a rack and pinion, whereby an operator is enabled with great rapidity and by simple manipulation of handles to vary the height 'of these tables to suit subjects of different heights and p to lock the same, in position. i 1

Still another object of my invention comprises the provision of means whereby the position of an ink film supply table relatively to the recording table may be varied from its ink film supplying position to a non-operative position away from the recording table, and preferably comprises means whereby said ink-film supply table will be normally supported from an arm overhanging the rear edge of the table in an ink-supplying position inclined or tilted relatively to said table, whereby the front edge of the ink-supply table which is coincidently used with the front edge of the recording table is brought closer thereto and made more readily available for use in supplying ink for recordation, in combination with means whereby said ink-film supply table ma be quickly moved outwardly and away rom said recording table to permit the use of the latter independently. I

Still another object of myinvention comprises the provision in combination with said raising and lowering rack of simple means for permitting horizontal swinging of the recording table to enable the sides of the table to be swung to the front and to be available'for writing.

Other objects of my invention will be in part obvious from the annexed drawings and in part indicated in connection thereyvith by the following analysis of this inven- This invention accordingly also consists in the features of construction, combinations of parts, and in the unique relationship of themembers and in the relative proportionmg and disposition thereof, all as more completely outlined in the following specification and in said drawings.

To enable others skilledin the art so fully to. comprehend the underlying features of my invention that they may embody the same by numerous modifications in structure and relationship of parts contemplated by this invention, drawings depicting a preferred form have been annexed as a part of this disclosure, and in such drawings like characters of reference denote corresponding parts throughout all the views, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in plan of the recording table showing in dotted lines a position of the ink-film supply table and the recording surface thereon;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 44 of Fig. 1; l I

Fig. 5 isfa section on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 Fig. 1; e V

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view of the feeding and retaining mechanism for the recording surface;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7 and I Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7.

is a section on the line 66 of portion 13.

Referring now to these drawings, 1 indicates a recording table, which constitutes the main table or element of my apparatus. This table 1 is preferably mounted by means of telescoping standards 8 and 13 respectively on a suitable supporting base 2 and has at its front edge a finger-impressing bed portion 1*. Suitably supported above the main recording table 1 in position to be readily available for use in cooperation with said finger-impressing bed portion 1 is an ink-film supply table 4 which is preferably rotatably supported in inclined or tilted relationship to'said recording table so as to cause the front edge of said ink-film supply table and the finger-impressing bed portion 1 of the recording table to be in close relationship to each other and permit easy access to both tables during the operation of impressing the fingers on the ink film supply table and on the recording surface. As illustrated, themain recording tableis pivotally supported on a cylindrical standard or rod 13, the upper end 13 of which is split to provide a groove 13 in which aodepending flange 1 of the recording table is seated, the said parts being securely connected together by means of a screw threaded spindle 13 which passes through one half of the upper split portion of the said bar 13 and said flange 1 is threaded at one end in the other half of said split portion and is provided at its opposite end with a knob 13 which has a bearing against the outer side of said split or slotted Obviously'upon the rotation of the knob 13 the split end 13. maybe caused to grip or release the flange 1" and to retain the table 1 in any desired tilted relationship to the said telescoping standards 3 and base. As shown, the depending flange 1 of the recording table 1 is formed integrally with a rearwardly extending arm 14, to whichis'hingedly connected at 15 an overhanging arm 16 having supported thereon in tilted operative relationship to the re? cording table as aforesaid the ink-film table 4 which is adapted to be swung backwardly on its hinge connection with the arm 14out of operative position when not .in use, or

when it is desired touse the rear portion of the recording table as a writing desk. Said supply table, as shown, has formed integrally'therewith a standard 17 provided at its lower end with a vertical groove portion 18,'having as shown a series of vertically disposed grooves 18? arc-shaped. in cross-section, and seated ina socket or bear; ing 19 which has a plunger housing 20 communicating therewith. In .the housing 20. is "a spring-pressed plunger 21 which is adapted to cooperate with the vertically dis posed grooves '18 to yieldinglyfretain the table 4 against rotation in suitable positions to present alternately to the finger-impressover the finger-impressing bed of said recording table. 7 a

My preferred means for so feeding recording surfaces comprises a pair of gripping rollers 26 and 27 mounted on shafts 28 and 29 arranged at the top of said fingerimpressing bed and journaled in bearings 30, 31 and 32, 33 respectively provided in an impressing bed frame 34 yieldin ly forced toward said finger impressing bed by spiral springs 35 encircling pins 36 which extend through apertures in the table top, said springs abutting at one of their ends against the under side of said table top and at the opposite end against tension adjusting wing nuts 37, whereby the rollers 26 and 27 will be yieldingly forced downwardly toward said finger impressing bed and against rollers 38 and 39 mounted beneath said tabletop. As shown, the rollers 38 and 39 are keyed on a shaft 40 journaled in :1 depending bearing bracket 41 suitably connected to the under side of the recording table 1, and having a portion of their peripheries projectin through apertures 42 in the table top, the arrangement of the rollers being such as to provide a feed channel therebetween flush with the finger im pressing bed through which a recording surface may be manually fed by a simple turning of the knob 13 In order to 'accommodate recording surfaces of varying widths within certain limits, the lower rollers are preferably of greater width than the upper rollers and the upper rollers are adjustable to move laterally along their shafts 28 and 29. q p

The recording surfaces are preferably led from aposition beneath the table upwardly and bent over the edge of the recording bed and for this purpose I preferably provide at the edge of the said bed a roller 43 which, as shown, is journaled at opposite ends in. an outward extension ofsaid brackets 41 and a spring-pressed surfacebending guide 44 which, as shown, is pivoted at 45 andextends upwardly and partially embraces the periphery of the roller 43. Said guide 44 is yieldingly retained in closed guiding position by springs 46 stretched between lugs 47 on said guide and posts 48 secured to the under surface of the table top 1, but may be moved outwardly away from said roller by finger pieces 44? and may be retained in open position by a cam 49 adapted to engage beneath the edge of a slot 50 in the guide 44 j 7 7 It is desirable to enable the recording table and ink film supply table to be moved vertically with rapidity and to be retained at any desired height to suit the varying statures of the subjects whose finger prints it is desired to record, and for this purpose I have provided improved means for adjusting the height of the table with great rapidity and positiveness. Forthis purpose, I have provided the standard 13 with a vertically disposed rack l3 and have mountedat the up per end of the standard 8 in a suitable split bearing 8 a pinion 9 which meshes with the rack 13 and is, as shown, keyed on a spindle 10 actuated to rotate by a knob or handle 11 so that the rack and standard 13 may be quickly raised and lowered by a simple manipulation of the handle 11.

In order to lock the parts in an desired position, I have, as shown, caused t e end of the spindle 10 to be screw threaded and a handle 12 having a nut portion 12" engaging the screw threaded portion 10 of said spindie, whereby parts of the split bearing 8 may be moved to frictionally grip the pinion 9 and rod 13 so as to retain these elements in any suitable adjustable relationshi thereto.

Having described my invention, claim:

1.;In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the combination with a recording table having a finger-impressing bed at one edge thereof and having slots at the opposite sides of said bed, lower feed rollers mounted in rectilineal alinement with each other on the same shaft below said table having a portion of their peripheries extending through said slots; upper rollers mounted above said table in rectilineal alinement with each other, means for yieldingly retaining said top rollers in contact with said lower rollers consisting of frame having a horizontal bar and vertical end connections projecting loosely through the said bed, and a manually actuated knob for controlling the feed of said rollers.

2. In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the c0mbination with a recording table having a finger-impressing bed at one edge thereof and having slots at the opposite sides of said bed, lower feed rollers mounted below said table having a portion of their peripheries extending through said slots, top rollers mounted in a frame above said table and in contact with said lower rollers, said frame consisting of a horizontal bar and vertical end pieces secured thereto, which end pieces have a vertical play through openings in the recording table; springs on the aforesaid end pieces of the roller frame for yieldingly forcing said frame toward the table and retaining said upper and lower rollers in yielding contact and a manually-actuated knob for control ling the feed of said rollers.

3. In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the combination with a recording table having a fin ger impressing bed at the front edge thereof, an ink film supply table overhanging the opposite edge thereof and means for feeding the recording surface over the finger impressing bed comprising feed rollers and manually actuated means for rotating said rollers, and a guiding platen at the front edge of said table and a movable bending and guiding shelf adapted to partially embrace the said platen, together with cam means for holding the shelf open.

4. In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the combination with a recording table having a finger impressing bed at the front edge thereof, an ink film supply table overhanging the op-- posite edge thereof, means for feeding the recording surface over the finger impressing bed comprising feed rollers and manually actuated means for rotating said rollers, a guiding platen at the front edge of said table and a movable bending and guiding shelf provided at its lower end below the said table and movable outwardly therefrom, spring devices for normally holding the said shelf in its closed position, and cam devices for holding said shelf in an open position when desired.

5. In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the combi nation with a recording table having a finger impressing bed at the front edge thereof, an ink film supply table overhanging the opposite edge thereof, means for feeding the recording surface over the finger impress ing bed comprising feed rollers and manually actuated means for rotating said rollers, a guiding platen at the front edge of said table, a movable bending and guiding shelf provided at its lower end below the said table and movable outwardly therefrom and means for normally and yieldingly retaining said shelf in contact with said platen, said means consisting of springs connected to the shelf and to a fixed portion of the frame, together with pivoted cam devices for holding said shelf in an open position, said devices being arranged to engage slots in the shelf.

6. In an apparatus for taking and preserving finger print impressions, the combination with a recording table having a finger impressing bed at the front edge thereof, an ink film supply table overhanging the opposite edge thereof, means for feeding the recording surface over the finger impressing bed comprising feed rollers and manually actuated means for rotating said rollers, a guiding platen at the front edge of said table, a movable bending and guiding shelf In witness whereof I have signed my provided at its lower end below the said name to the foregoing specification in the table and movable outwardly therefrom and presence of two subscribing witnesses.

means for retaining said shelf in its outward PATRICK RYAN. position, consisting of pivoted cams ar- Witnesses: ranged to engage beneath the edges of slots J AMES A. RAFFERTY,

in the shelf. DAVID A. SCOTT, 

